Movies that I like: A – Z

I have seen a lot of movies, loads of them; but believe you me, the exercise of making a list of movies that I liked the most, was a tough one! Tougher than doing Math exercises!

I picked this idea from Mahendra Mama’s blog! In his blog he has written briefly about every movie and what he liked about the movie, but it will take me sometime, before I find myself sometime to do (what I think is leisure) writing. So as starters I present you only with list of movies that I found very interesting to watch.

Also at the end if you think I missed a great movie to watch or mention, please leave the name of the movie in the comments and I will be more than glad to add it to my wish list and someday actually see it!

Alphabet	Winner	Runner Up
A	Apocalypto	August Rush/Amadeus
B	A Beautiful Mind	Braveheart/Blood Diamond
C	Cinderella Man	City of Angels
D	Driving Miss Daisy	The Dark Knight
E	Elizabeth Town	Eight Below
F	Finding Neverland	Forrest Gump/Fiddler on the roof
G	Gladiator	Goodwill Hunting
H	Hangover	Happy Feet
I	In Pursuit of Happyness	Ice Age
J	Juno	Jerry Maguire
K	Kate and Leopold	Kung Fu Panda
L	Lion King	Little Miss Sunshine
M	Monsters Inc	My Cousin Vinny
N	Never been kissed	None
O	October Sky	None
P	Pride and Prejudice	None
Q	The Queen	None
R	St. Ralph
S	Step Mom	Sleepless in Seattle
T	The American President	The Incredibles
U	None	None
V	Vertigo	None
W	When Harry Met Sally
X	None	None
Y	You’ve got mail	None
Z	None

A special mention to: The American President! Reason: Because it is special to me!

Hyderabad: The city of Nizam

Hyderabad: A city of abundance. Once ruled by the Nizams, the city is now the IT hub of India. It is a Shangri La for the food lovers, especially the mouth watering Hyderabadi Biryani! Famous for its jewelry in pearl! In spite of being a metro, Hyderabad is not very typical. It has a culture of its own which retains its rich history and yet absorbs the modern trends.

My visit to Hyderabad was very sudden and short. My colleague Varsha had was back in India in her home town Hyderabad. She invited me to visit her and everything worked out well. I took two days leave from the office and flew to Hyderabad on a Thursday, that way i could make good use of my weekend.

Varsha came to receive me at the airport. After reaching home we had garma garam Chole and Poori for lunch. A perfect "Welcome to Hyderabad"! At night we went to the Hussain Sagar lake. If you want to enjoy the beauty of this lake, evening is the best time. You can feel the soft breeze in your face and enjoy the scene. At night the lake is lit at shores and the statue of Buddha located at the center of the lake just looks magnificent.

Golconda Ruins

Next day we left for Golconda Fort. Golconda was the captial city and has a fortress build by the Qutb Shahi rulers. The city was home to one of the most powerful Muslim Sultanates and was a flourishing center for diamond trade. The famous Kohinoor diamond was found in the mines of Golconda.

Qutb Shahi Tomb

At the foot of the Golconda fortress are the Qutb Shahi tombs. The eleven tombs in this area are erected in memory of the Kings and their Begums who ruled the city of Golconda for 170 years until Mogul Emperor Aurangzeb took over.

Charminar

Later in the evening we went to Charminar. It was built in 1591. It is originally a Masjid. It is situated right in the middle of a crowded road. This piece of Architecture is simply astonishing. There is an old Unani Hospital on the left and a huge Masjid on the right. Unani is a branch of medicines.


We also visited the Salar Jung Museum. However we had to rush through its chambers as we went pretty late. You need at least a day's time to visit this place. Its worth your time. It takes you back in history. It was private collection once.

Next day we went for breakfast buffet! We had paitful! A little late in the afternoon we went for a lunch buffet where I finally got to taste the Shahi Hyderabadi Biryani, it was so delectable that i almost ate my fingers. I had a wonderful wonderful time in Hyderabad. All Thanks to Varsha and her family.

The legend says that while laying the foundation of Charminar, Qutb Shah Quli prayed to God to bestow unto this city, peace and prosperity and to let the millions of men of all castes, creeds and religions make it their abode. Just like the thousands of fishes in the sea. True to the legend, the city has bloomed into a synthesis of a beautiful Hyderabadi culture. My Salam to Hyderabad!

Swades: We the people!

I am a big movie buff. I often spend my weekends in a theater to find out about the new releases. Having seen most of the movies, I don't let movies affect me emotionally or leave behind an influence. But Swades was just different. I have seen Swades at least 20 times and each time i see it, it has the same impact when i had seen it the first time. It is indeed very strange and always wonders why I love watching this movie over and over again.

There are multiple things that i love about this movie from a "Movie" perspective. First of all it is a Ashutosh Gowarikar movie. I had loved the way Ashutosh directed Lagaan, and the way he has directed Swades and Jodha Akhbar. The guy has sensible head on his shoulders. Then the music of Swades is just perfect not only in terms of the composition but perfect for the movie, for the story and for the message that movie had to spread to its masses. And then King Khan is my favorite, and i think he has portrayed the character of "Mohan" very well...

Overall Swades is a masterpiece of Indian Cinema... a movie well written and well presented. But this not all that i like about this movie Swades... i find there is much more to it... Swades is more than a movie... more than entertainment.

Swades is about all the Indians who wish to do something for their country. It is about people who wish to bring a positive change in this nation. It is about looking at the positives and finding out a way in spite of all the negatives that prevail in the nation. It is about choosing a path (so tough) than choosing to play the blame game (rather easy and preferred by the most).

The movie talks about creating a system... a system in which government along with the general masses work towards betterment of the nation. It is about working together, hand in hand and bringing a revolution.

I would request every Indian to watch this wonderful movie yet another time to get motivated to bring about a small change in the society by bringing a small change in ourselves... After all it is SWADES, it is about WE the people!!!

Incredible India

India is a like an unending journey. It can last as much and more than the curiosity of the traveler. With a history over thousand years (and thousands of books being written about it), the country still remains unexplored and untouched. What makes India so mystic? Is it the people or the place? Is it the history or the culture? One cannot pin point its distinction from the rest of the world, and yet it is precisely this vividness that makes it stand out from rest of the world.

India is the epitome of diversity. Right from its people, languages, religions, traditions, culture, food, festivals, climates to politics, lifestyles, from villages to metros, we are diverse in every possible way. Ideally aren't these the differences a reason to fight? It is rare to find a nation that speaks over 14 languages, and follows more than 4 religions and celebrates over 100 festivals, and rushes to help over come natural calamities and today it a shelter to over a billion people. It’s unique and hence rare.

India is tough... with nothing in common between any state except the Indian boundary, what is it that binds its together so well?? It is the heritage. Indian heritage is all about emotions... it is a sentiment. It not just binds the differences together but also blends it to an unmatched oneness!!

India is a culture in it self. Indians are different. They are warm people. They are people who love people. They are people who value each other. They are people who sacrifice for each other. India is about a billion different souls staying together in harmony, love and peace. It is this Indianness that makes its Atulya, a truly incredible India.